Shoppers disappoint retailers this holiday season

WASHINGTON - U.S. shoppers spent cautiously this holiday season, a disappointment for retailers who slashed prices to lure people into stores and now must hope for a post-Christmas burst of spending.

Sales of electronics, clothing, jewelry and home goods in the two months before Christmas increased 0.7 percent compared with last year. That's according to the MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse report.

That was below the healthy 3 to 4 percent growth that analysts had expected - and it was the worst year-over-year performance since 2008, when spending shrank sharply during the Great Recession.